tag: A*Star

Packaging and test
A*STAR’s Institute of Microelectronics (IME) has formed a fan-out wafer-level packaging consortium comprising of OSATs, materials vendors, equipment suppliers and others.
The group is called the FOWLP Development Line Consortium. As part of the announcement, Singapore’s IME has established a development line to accelerate the development of fan-out. Located in IME’s... » read more

Packaging houses continue to ramp up fan-out wafer-level packages in the market, but customers want lower cost fan-out products for a broader range of applications, such as consumer, RF and smartphones.
So in R&D, the industry for some time has been developing next-generation fan-out using a panel-level format, a technology that could potentially lower the cost of fan-out. But there are ... » read more

MacEtch and chips
Singapore’s Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) has advanced a technology called metal-assisted chemical etching or MacEtch for use in the fabrication of silicon nanowires and related structures.
Silicon nanowires are used in several applications, such as electronics, solar, storage, optical, catalysis, drug delivery and sensors. In semiconductors, the ... » read more

U.S. to boost IC competitiveness
President Obama’s Council of Advisors on Science & Technology (PCAST) has launched a new semiconductor working group in the United States.
The new working group will focus on ways to strengthen the competitiveness of the U.S. semiconductor industry. It will provide recommendations to PCAST regarding the challenges facing the U.S. semiconductor industry. Th... » read more

Space elevators
Last year, Pennsylvania State University disclosed a technology called benzene-derived carbon nanothreads or sometimes called diamond nanothreads (DNTs).
DNTs resemble carbon nanotubes. They are tiny hollow cylindrical tubes that are stronger than steel, but they are also brittle. Basically, DNTs are 1D structures with poly-benzene sections, which are connected by Stone–Wa... » read more

Fab tools and T&M
Applied Materials and the Institute of Microelectronics (IME), a research institute under the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), have announced a five-year extension of their R&D collaboration at the Centre of Excellence in Advanced Packaging in Singapore. The organizations will expand the scope of their R&D collaboration to focus on advancing fan-out wafer... » read more

CMP replacement?
For years, chipmakers have used chemical-mechanical-polishing (CMP) tools to smooth or polish the surface of a wafer.
CMP works, but the technology is time-consuming and expensive. CMP can also leave unwanted residual patterns and defects near the surface.
In response, Russia’s National Research Nuclear University MEPhI (Moscow Engineering Physics Institute) has help... » read more

Detecting anapoles
A*STAR has detected invisible particles. Researchers from the Singaporean R&D organization have observed a new optical effect in nanoscale disks of silicon, which are patterns of radiation that do not scatter light.
One example of a non-radiating source is called an anapole. An anapole, according to A*Star, is a distribution of charges and currents. They do not radiate wi... » read more

Fab tools
Applied Materials has officially rolled out the Producer Selectra system, a selective etch tool.
The system falls under the loosely defined category called atomic layer etch (ALE). Applied’s technology addresses a number of challenges. Today’s advanced chips have complex structures. They may also have deep and narrow trenches.
One of the challenges is the inability of wet ... » read more

MEMS manufacturing
A*STAR’s Institute of Microelectronics (IME) in Singapore has launched its third consortium to develop MEMS technologies. This would allow MEMS sensor devices to achieve better performance, higher power efficiency and a smaller form factor. The MEMS Consortium III consists of the following companies: Applied Materials, Coventor, Delta Electronics, GlobalFoundries, InvenS... » read more